On February 20, 2001, five women who were arrested in connection with an "anti-fur" demonstration at a Washington, D.C. Neiman Marcus store filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the U.S. Marshalls Service. Plaintiffs alleged that following their arrest, they ...
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On February 20, 2001, five women who were arrested in connection with an "anti-fur" demonstration at a Washington, D.C. Neiman Marcus store filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the U.S. Marshalls Service. Plaintiffs alleged that following their arrest, they were subjected to strip and squat searches without a reasonable individualized suspicion that they were concealing weapons or contraband. Plaintiffs further alleged that the Marshals Service routinely subjected women, but not men, to pre-arraignment strip and squat searches, as was the case with six men who were arrested with Plaintiffs but not searched. Plaintiffs proceeded under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) and sought compensatory damages of one million dollars each.

The Government moved to dismiss the case for failure to state a claim. On March 21, 2002, the District Court (Judge Bates) granted the Government's motion in part and denied it in part, holding that Plaintiffs could not state a FTCA claim for wrongful arrest or violation of equal protection but that they could maintain a FTCA claim for invasion of privacy (specifically, the tort of intrusion upon seclusion). Helton v. U.S. 191 F.Supp.2d 179 (D.D.C. 2002).

On November 8, 2002, the parties entered into a Stipulation for Settlement and Dismissal. Under the terms of the settlement, each of the five plaintiffs (together with their attorneys) received $8,000, for a total settlement amount of $40,000.

Five women arrested for unlawful entry in connection with an "anti-fur" demonstration who were placed in United States Marshals Service custody and compelled "to remove clothing and submit to a strip and squat search" prior to arraignment.